Means for use in heating, pumping, and circulating water and other fluids.



A. CLARK & J. J. FERGUSON.

TING, PUMPING, AND GIRGULATING WATER AND OTHER FLUIDS. APPLICATION FILEDAPR.29,19 10.

MEANS FOR USE in HEA Patented 001;. 15, 1912" ITED STATES N1 re."

ALEXANDER CLARK, or GOVAN, AND JOHN JAMES rsncoscu, er GLASGOW,-

As'mncation filed April 29, 1910. Serial Ne. erases...

. SCOTLAND.

' MEANS FOR USE TIT-HEATING, PUMPING, Afifi CIRCULATING WATER AND OTHERFLUIDS.

1,041,429. p cifi ti n f L e P n Patented 0ct.15,1912.

J OHN JAMEs FERGUSON, engineer, of VVelg lington street, in the city andcpunty oi the city of Glasgow, Scotland, subjects 01" the King of GreatBritain and Ireland, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Means for Use in Heating, Pumping, and Circulating later and otherFluids, (for which ,we have obtained a patent in GreatrBrita-in, No.10,126, bearin date of April :29. 1909,) of which the following is aspecification.

This invention comprises means for use in automatically heating,pumping, and circulating water and other fluids.

It has for certain of its specific objects to heat and pump Waterautomatically, to pump water into and circulate it automatically Withina steam boiler; also to heat and automatically circulate Water containedin a series .of inter-communicating heating pipes or radiators.--

The invention will be understood if ref erence is made to theaccompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a View partly in section, ofour spiral pump Within a steam or Water jacket. Fig. 2 is a View inelevation of our Wormshaped or spiral pump. Fig. 3 is a cross .view insection of Fig. 1 through Z Z.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of our spiral pump in combination with anarrangement of heating and Water circulating devices.

'Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a steam boiler with the pump fixedwithin the boiler,

- and Fig. 6'is a similar view with the to pump fixed outside of theboiler.

' Similar letters of reference and numerals throughout the illustrationsindicate corresponding parts. a l

The essential device comprised inthis invention is a coil or Worm-shapedtubular vessel constituting a pump, gradually diminished at each end bya conical taper into a small bore tube, similar to a trumpet, and whichis designed far being operated automatically by externally applied heat.Each of these diminished ends is preferably formed as a curved, bent andconical continuation of the Worm, and is extended as a straight line oftubing toward and beyond the opposite end of the worm or coil. is madeto pass along the outside or inside of this White as indicated in thedrawings. The lower or discharge end particularly of the Worm isdesignedly tapered into a cone or trumpet shape with upwardly turned;semicircular or bent continuation. This bent port-ion forms a trap orWater seal for the coil, and by its curved continuation of the barrel orbody part of the apparatus, facilitates the easy discharge of its fluidcontents in an upward direction when it is in use-as a pump. The fluidcontents are forced upward through the straight. extension tube. Theupper end of the worm is also (and similarly) connected to a straightcontinuation tube Whichis extended downward as a suction or teed-waterpipe. This coil; or Worm-shaped vessel orpump is designed to be fixed,variously, as required,

within a jacketor chamber, wherein the coil can be subjected to powerfulheat, either dry or moist. The said chamber may be a portion of afurnace line, a hot-air chamber, a steam or hot water jacket, theinterior of a boiler or other suitable location. The top of thisspiral-bodied pump is fixed, for effective. operation, below the levelof its water service or supply tank, so that Water may flow bygravitation through the supply or feed pipe into the upper part of theworm and proceed downward into its trap bend and conical base until itsrise within the worm compresses the air or vapor therein,

and prevents any further flow of water into it. The bent upper end ofthis coil continuation performs periodically the functions of an airtrap, and at intervals prevents or arrests the passage of water from thefeed pipe through it into the coil.

In the application of this invention to the .circuliition .of Waterthrough pipes and radiators, such as those marked A, a, Fig.

Either or both of these straight tubes 4, for warming tiers and suitesof apartments, the jacket 6 of this pump B is connected by pipes 7), bintermediately be-- tween a high pressure boiler C and a 'ciiculatingcylinder 0 (or the like), and a water cistern or service, so that whenfire isv applied thereto the hot Water from the boiler C'passes throughthe, said jacket lfi before it proceeds to the circulating cylinder candheats the metal coil. The pump itself .b and e with an expansion cisternD, and

directly with a set of heating pipes or radiators A, a. The jacket 12 isconnected directly with the boiler C and cylinder and indirectly withthe cistern D, by fee pipe (Z connecting cistern D with the boiler C,and expansion pipe d connecting circulating cylinder 0 with theexpansion cistern D. Escapement pipe E is connected as usual to theexpansion pipes e and d of the radiators and circulating cylinder, thepipe e serving as a vent for the upper bendof the pipe I).

\Vhen the heating pipes or radiators, such" as those marked A, a, Fig.4, are filled with water from the part F or the like, the water firstflows through the radiator a and the pipe I) to and through the pump B,in drops or a broken-up condition, due to the larger capacity of thepump, and then into the trap b of the pump and seals'it. The air whichhas been forced out of the radiator a and pipe b is confined within thepump B between the'water seal in the trap b and the water in the upperpart of the feed pipe I); As the water continues to fall or flow in abroken-up condition from the pipe 6 into the pump B, it gradually risestherein and in the pipe 6 after its trap is sealed,

and the air confined in the coil or pump becomes more and morecompressed until the inflowing water at the top from pipe I) iscompletely arrested by the confined and compressed bubble or plug ofair, as the bent upper part of the. pipe I) then becomes an air trap.Water then flows from F through radiator A into pipe 6 and thusincreases the compression of the air inpu'mp B. Vhen the system issufficiently filled with water the supply at F is cut off or stopped,and there is no pressure maintained on the water contained in thesystem.

When the Water in the boiler C is sufficiently heated the usualcirculation is set up between the boiler and the circulating cylindera". As the hot water from the boiler C passes through the pipe 6' andjacket I) the metal body of the spiral B becomes'very hot andthe air andvapor Within it expand until the water in the pump and the water seal inthe trap b is forced forward through v the said trap and. upward throughthe pipe b to the radiator A. ;The Water is prevented from being forcedback into the feed pipe I) by reason of the greater volume andconsequent momentum of the column of water in pipe I), radiator a to thefilling part F, with which it sustains an unbroken connection, and addedto which is the frictional resistance of the bends of the radiator a.Therefore, the column of water in pipe 0 to open vent pipe 6' is opposedtov the column of water from the filling part F. and in radiator a,through pip e bf, the column from the fillingpart to radiator 0/ alonebeing greater than the column in pipe biand the air confined in thepumpB acts I as a buffer to'each." When. the air in the pump expands bythe heat applied-thereto,

it is opposed by the water in pipe I) by a,

resistance equal toor more than twi e the resistance in pipe b when pipe6 is full.

column of water in pipe 6 Therefore, there is always least resistance bythe water in pipe 12 and the air pressure in the pump easily forces thewater from within the pump upward through pipe 6 until it obtains ventor passes through the air space '5 the upper bend at the vent 6 1ndbetween? the column of water in radiatoFA and the or supply cistern Dand' bannotv return. V

When the pressure of the pump ceases and .has forced some of the waterfrom pipe 6 the air in the pump is between unequal pressures, the(pressure at the inlet being the greater, an consequently there is aquicker flow of water from pipe I) thanfrom pipe 12 into the pump Buntil an equilibrium of pressure at the inlet and outlet is reached.Compression of the air in pump B again takes place due to the waterrising in the lower part of the pump, and. as-the pulsations continue aslight evaporation takes place through the open 'vent p'ipe e,-s0 thatthe pipe I) is never again full of water after the first pulsation, butits column of water is imperceptibly diminishing while the heat andoperation of the pump are maintained. Refilling at 'F is required as thewater evapo-. rates. The column ofwater'in the pi-peF and radiator anever varies,'it being continuously supplied by circulation throughradiator A. and maintains an equal resistance upon the inlet side ,ofthe pump, while the pipe 12 maintains only theresistance of its varying.column of water due to the break between the radiator A and said pipe,

filling of pipe 6 is from F only, and there is always an occasional orintermittent siphoning actionat the ,junction of F with .by the airspace therein at the vent e. The

radiator A, when the apparatus-is in operapart F than in radiator A,from F, includ--' ing in pipe 6 than the hydrostatic head at the Inletto pipe 6 v find its respectively,

forced out of this pump,

ing vent e, E, the column in pipe being isolated from the column inradiator A and filling p'art F by the air vent e and E, the surpluswater in the pipe 6 at the start be ing vented through the pipe 6 tocistern l). Thereafter there is always some water in the and a variablequantity of air will wayto the upper bend of pipe 6 due to the open pipe6. The air pressure within the pump while thus expelling the waterthrough the trap and pipe, I) and prevents for a'time any mo'r'e waterflowing through the bent head of the pipe 6 into the coil.v Thisexpansion of air continues until the air pressure is less than thehydrostatic head of the water remain- The air pressure is then less thepump, and colder water drops from the feed pipe 6 into the pumppartially cooling and pontracting the air within the pump.

As the cooler water'flpws in at the top of the pump, the undischargedwater remaining in the pipe 6 simultaneously flows back therefromthrough the trap b into the pump. Or, in other words, as the water isthe airspace within the pump is increased and the expelling power of theheated air reaches an end before the water. can be vented from the trap.An equilibrium is then set up momentarily between the air pressure andthe water pressures in the pipes b and 6 Upon the i slightestdisturbance of this equilibrium and sive power.

as there is less resistance offered by the reduced column of water inthe pipe 6 due to some of the water being discharged therefrom, thewater in the pipe 6, which from the start has a'greater resistance (morethan double) than in i and slightly cools the air within the pump andreduces its bulk, expansive and expul- From F to the upper bend of pipeI) the radiator a and pipes are always full of water as above stated,but the shorter pipe b is never. full after the first pulsation, andthus a greater resistance is maintained in the feed'pipe Y)". Watersimultaneously begins to flow back from the pipe 6 into the pump aftereach expulsion, and combines with the water flowing or dropping in atthe upper end of the pump from pipe 6, and a vapor or humid atmosphereenters e; The air within the pump becomes, after a pause, againcompressed, and is then again expanded by',the heat in chamber .6 andagain expels the water from the pumpand trap through pipe 6 intoradiator A and from radiator A to feed pipe'leading'from F to radiatora, and the air 15;. again par-' tlally cooled and condensed. Thispumping process is continued at intervals so long as the heat ismaintained in the boiler C.

This heat is absorbed by the'water and is 111g, pumping,

the pipe 6*, begins to flow external to the boiler the top of 12 throughventpipe Flg. 6, the pipes b pumpB. When the wateris first filled at'" Finto the radiators A, a,=it is cold, but as 1tv circulates through thehot pump B it becomes gradually heated by contact with its hotspiral-shaped metal surface and'the hot air within it. The spiral formof this' pum and liquid contents within it. form of the pump 13isdesigned and adapted for rapidly raising the temperature of theatmosphere within the pump. The pump ceases itsoperations,"automatically, when the air in the pump and the heatingmedium are at the same temperature and the water in the feed and exhaustpipes and the air in the pump are in equilibrium, and commences to act,automatically, when these conditions arefldisturbed. The jacketed pumpB, 6 in conjunction with a boiler G and appliances 0 and D, asrepresented in Fig. 4, is adapted and designed, also, for automaticallyraisand discharging water as well as for circulating it within suchconfined areas as radiators where it is required to travel in a cycle.

The jacketed pump B, 6 Fig. 1, is designed and adapted for attachment toany convenient part, within or outside, of a steam boileror generatorwhere its feed and discharge pipes b andlfia're' extended so as tocommunicate respectively with the lower and upper: parts of the boiler,and the pipe -b with the cock 6 is designed to be connected externallywith a feed water tank or the likeoutside, ofit. If the jacketed pump13,6 is fixed withina steam boiler, as shown in F ig. 5, the pipesb andb are extended through the shell of the boiler to the outside thereof,and the pipe 72 is open to the steam space within it. It is designed tobe operated within a steam boiler as a feed pump when required by meansof steam supplied from some source through the pipe 5', also as acirculator of the water within the boiler by means of the same externalsupply of steam while the water within theboiler is at a lowtemperature. The supply of steam through the external pipe 6 is designedto be cut off from the chamber 6 when the heat within the boiler issufficient of itself to operate the pump B. When the pipe 6 islopen tothe steam space and pressure with-'. in the boiler and the steam is cutoff at b, the steam within the boiler can enter thro gh the pipe 6 andfill the chamber 12 and operate the pump B.

VVhen the jacketed pump B, 6 Fig. 1, is fixed outside of. a steamboiler, as shown in and Z) can be passed P 75 body presents a very largemetal surface for receiving and transmitting heat to the air; Thisspiral through the shell of the boiler to the interior thereof, and thepipes b, b connected with the steam space of a high pressure boiler, andan exhaust tank or cylinder, correspondingto those marked C, c, Fig. 4,or the like, and the pipe I) is connected with any suitable feedwater'tank or supply and with the feed pipe b. If'steam from anyconvenient source is fed through 1) into the chamber la -it suflices,when-the cock 6 is closed, to operate the pump 13 as a circus latoronly. When the'cock b is open the apparatus is adapted for operationasalfeed water pump for the boiler.-

The'pump B alone, with its pipes b, b and 6 without the jacket 12 andits pipes b, b may be fixed within a steam boiler-and a operated by theheatof the water within" it as a feed water pump when the cock 6 isopen, and as a circulator when it is closed. The whole of the worm B isfixed below the high water levelwithin the boiler for the purposesherein described. The spiral pump B is also designed to be fixed outsideof a steam boiler and within some adjacent pla ce,

\ chamber, or jacketwhere it can be subjected to a dry heat, and itspipes 6 6, extended through the plates or shell of the boiler into theinterior thereof for use as a feed pump and circulator alternately asrequired. In these several installations of the pump, the pipe 6 openingfreely into the steam space of the boiler, serves the purpose of ventingthe upper part only, not the whole, of said pipe,the same as the pipe 6in the firstdescribed arrangement.

We are aware that, previous to our invention, tubular air and vaporcontaining Vessels have been combined with steam boilers internally forautomatically circulating Hie water therein, wherein the actuating agentfor preventing and promoting, arresting Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents and dischargingthe flow of water was air andvapor alternately expanded .and com pressed by varying degrees of heatand ressure derived from the temperature o the" water within the boilerand the said..ves sel.

It' will therefore be understood that we do 'notclaim,s ueh a method ofoperating al pump or circulator for water as our shaped, centralair-chamber, havinga small-.. bore inlet pipe at the top extendeddown-'- ward below the spiral, and 'an'outlet at the base having atrap-bend, and a-snlall-boi'e' pipe extended upward from said dischagggltrap-hen above the spiral, as and for thepurposes herein set forth. v

2. An" automatic tubular liquid pump adapted to'be arranged in a heatingchamber, comprising a wide-bore, spiral-shaped air-chamber terminatingat the top small-bore inlet pipe extended downward below the spiral,and'a tapered base having a trap-bend therein, and a small-bore dis--charge pipe extended upward from said trap-bend above the spiral asandfor the purposes herein set forth. t j;

3. An automatic tubular liquidpump,

adapted to be arranged within "a heating in a chamber, comprising acapacious =airchamber having an inlet pipe at the top and-an outlet pipeat the bottom, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

ALEXANDER CLARK.

JOHN JAMES FERGUSON. Witnesses:

J osnrn LOCKWOOD,

FRED MIDDLETON.

each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

